To compare it thoroughly (at 100 MHz) with other PC you may take part in Phil's testing.
And if it has Win9x I'd test also speed in DOSBox, as it may be useful to play some very old games on top 486. To do it easy is good to run inside DOSBox the Speed Test by Agababyan wich has significant base to compare (with DOSBox's settings: core=dynamic, cputype=486_slow, cycles=max; others default). Would be interesting to see can 486 give at least 286 level there. If you had no deals with DOSBox: to mount a folder as virtual drive C in DOSBox is needed to input in DOSBox's .conf section [autoexec] 2 strings:
mount c c:\somefolder\
c:

VERY nice cabling and tidy system over all.
Wish I had a 3 digit display. I have a 2 digit I saved from a case long ago but only have 1 PC below 120Mhz

High-end 486 - I like it! Fulfilling a childhood dream - even better!

Don't like the SFF keyboard - If I wanted to use one, I'd choose a laptop 🤣

What's the tube amp for - did you build it yourself?

Hi,

Tertz, I am not very much into benchmarks and performance testing. I just did the small test battery just to have an idea of what kind of machine I managed to build. But I surely did read parts of the thread you indicated to me. Thank you! If I will find some spare time in the close future, I might decide to do some other benchmarks, but only after I receive the 586/133MHz CPU. But for now I'm sticking with my MS-DOS developing work and playing games, time permits, that is.

chinny22, I am a little obsessed by cable management, and I really like everything tidy. It provides a nice access to components, good airflow, and aesthetics, why not. It just happened that my case had the 3 digit LED display. I just wouldn't have ever dreamed of owning such stuff some 10 to 15 years ago. I spotted it at the University, while visiting a good friend, prepared for dumping and recycling. Naturally, I took it and thrashed the internals (I can't remember what it was, but I'm kind of sorry I ditched the CPU -- it might have been a Cyrix 133MHz) then assembled this PC.

oerk, I don't particularly like the keyboard too, but I am still searching for an old IBM Model M, or something else from that era, that is in good shape. They have become a scarce resource here. The tube amp is just a small audio buffer between digital sources and final amplification. Yes, I built it myself back when time was not a problem for me (cca. 10 years ago).

PS: I am having in progress another retro build, this time a Pentium II/400MHz. But this will be presented in another thread, when I gather enough components to go. This machine I'm planning to use for games such as Sin, Half-Life, and the like, on Windows 98.

ALEKS

ALEKS wrote:

The tube amp is just a small audio buffer between digital sources and final amplification. Yes, I built it myself back when time was not a problem for me (cca. 10 years ago).

Nice! What's in it? 12AX7?

Ah yeah, the time problem... I know it too well.

It is a Russian made 6H23P tube. It's European equivalent would be the E88CC tube.

ALEKS wrote:

PS: I am having in progress another retro build, this time a Pentium II/400MHz. But this will be presented in another thread, when I gather enough components to go. This machine I'm planning to use for games such as Sin, Half-Life, and the like, on Windows 98.

For Win9x I'd think about P3 600 MHz Coppermine. Late Win9x games had it or higher recommended.

The fact is that I am having a very nice pristine Intel SR440BX board that accepts either Slot 1 Pentium II or Pentium III processors, up to 550MHz. I am having both, a Pentium II 400MHz and a Pentium III 550MHz. I am not sure what is the difference in computing power between them, but as soon as I gather other components, I will do some quick tests to see which one suits my purpose best.

If I will stumble across a better vintage board (in pristine condition, of course), then it would be easy to change the internals.

ALEKS wrote:

I am not sure what is the difference in computing power between them

Having Katmai 550 is other situation. Katmai 550 and Coppermine 600 should not to have significant difference (<10%). While Katmai 550 is noticable ~35% faster than PII 400, - such is by clocks and by Quake fps in Phil's testing. So games and applications befor XP era, - up to 2001 year, should work fine with your P3 550.

Thank you for this great explanation regarding the computing power differences between the Deschutes core Pentium II at 400MHz and Katmai core Pentium III at 550MHz. Now I am 100% positive that I will use the Katmai CPU for this build.
I have also sourced 512Mb of PC-100 RAM "new" (as in never used) and a Seagate Barracuta ATA IV 20Gb disc. The case is an InWin Q500, that looks promising. I am eager to build this machine but lack of time (I'll be leaving abroad next week for half a month) will force me to wait until mid-July to start assembling the parts together.

Very Nice system you build there. Good thing you managed to make it so silent in operation.
I noted 42,36 points in Speedsys with the same DX4-100 in my VLB based 486. That is in Write Trough mode as well.

ALEKS wrote:

The fact is that I am having a very nice pristine Intel SR440BX board that accepts either Slot 1 Pentium II or Pentium III processors, up to 550MHz. I am having both, a Pentium II 400MHz and a Pentium III 550MHz.

Here is a small review I did about the SR440BX Motherboard:
Re: Intel-built 486/Pentium/PPro/PII motherboard guide
Are you sure your Pentium III 550 is a Katmai?, as there are also Coppermines of that speed. Well.. i see it is in your signature, so i supose you got it running already.

Cool build! The case seems to be in very good condition. I still wanna grab one of those DX4 100 for me too. 😀

ALEKS wrote:

I find that the Macintosh keyboard is way more suited for fast-paced programming than the old Compaq dinosaur.

I wouldn't imagine by much 😜

To each his own though I guess, I would get a nice mechanical keyboard like a Model M.

Nice set-up though overall, I really like it. I'd like to add a 486 machine to my collection at some point, but I've never found a good one in the wild and people selling on the internet way over-estimate what PC-compatibles are worth.

Than you all for your appreciation of this 486 class machine.

gerwin, I really like silent computers, but I also like the sound of the actuator moving on the platters. So this is what I am mostly aiming for: no (or less - undervolted) fans, big heatsinks, and low-noise spindle motor hard discs. Actuator noise -- not a problem.

Regarding the Pentium III, I am positive it is a Katmai as it is Slot 1, not Socket. I am not sure if Coppermine exists on Slot 1. Correct me if I'm wrong.
And yes, I did started the board to see how it fires up. It's in good working order. However I'm far away from home now and I'm only dreaming of finishing the assembly of this second machine.

PS: I have read the review, thank you. I like the writing. By the way, do you have any idea whether the Pentium III clocked at 500MHz can run with silent cooling -- only a generous heatsink?

jhl2600, I'm still waiting for an IBM (or clone) mechanical keyboard on the local flea market. I'm hoping I'd find one soon. You know, there was a time when I had many, I even gave them for free 15+ years ago... Now I'm willing to pay for one. Life's crazy, you know.

Regards,

ALEKS wrote:

jhl2600, I'm still waiting for an IBM (or clone) mechanical keyboard on the local flea market. I'm hoping I'd find one soon. You know, there was a time when I had many, I even gave them for free 15+ years ago... Now I'm willing to pay for one. Life's crazy, you know.

I know what you mean, I always regret buying something I used to have back when it was current technology but gave away when it got old because I wasn't really thinking of amassing a collection or anything like that at the time.

ALEKS wrote:

Regarding the Pentium III, I am positive it is a Katmai as it is Slot 1, not Socket. I am not sure if Coppermine exists on Slot 1. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I have two 533MHz coppermine CPU's myself, one slotted and one socketted. It seems the same variation is there for the 550MHz model; sspecs SL3V5 + SL44X being slotted. (source: CPU world)

ALEKS wrote:

And yes, I did started the board to see how it fires up. It's in good working order. However I'm far away from home now and I'm only dreaming of finishing the assembly of this second machine.

PS: I have read the review, thank you. I like the writing. By the way, do you have any idea whether the Pentium III clocked at 500MHz can run with silent cooling -- only a generous heatsink?

OK patience then. Glad you liked the mini motherboard review.

Personally I try to avoid running computer electronics so hot, that I cannot touch the heatsink anymore. With that in mind, a lot of potential for passive operation is found in the Pentium III coppermine @ 500..550MHz. As the coppermine can be undervolted to 1,3 Volt, which significantly decreases heat dissipation. At the mentioned speed and voltage they would do fine without a CPU fan. (Though a single system fan may still be in order, to get some cooler air in the case.) See my experiment.
The above does not hold true for Pentium III Katmai though, as it uses the same manufacturing process as the Pentium II Deschutes: Suppose at least 1,9 Volt is required to run a Katmai.

Nice machine. Are you running FreeDOS? And if not, what version of MS-DOS?

Nice machine, but the keyboard looks painful for games... (I can't live without a keypad for controls).

I think you can run the 550 Katmai passively if you have one of those nice big massive OEM heatsinks. I stripped a full tower Compaq last year with the same cpu and it was passive with the thinnest little aluminum Celeron style cooler possible, and that cpu tested good in another board.